Louisiana health officials are warning residents not to use nonsterilized tap water in neti pots after the deaths of two people who exposed their brains to a deadly amoeba while flushing out their nasal passages.

The amoeba, Naegleria fowleri, can be found in lakes and ponds as well as in contaminated lukewarm tap water. The organism doesn't pose a threat when ingested, but if it becomes lodged in a person's nose it can end up in the brain and cause an infection.

The infection, lethal in 95% of cases, triggers an array of symptoms that resemble those of bacterial meningitis, including vomiting, headaches and sleepiness. As it progresses, it can cause changes in a person’s behavior and lead to confusion and hallucinations. It usually causes death within one to 12 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals issued its warning after a 51-year-old woman in DeSoto Parish died after rinsing her sinuses with a neti pot, a small vessel used to pour warm water into one nostril and out the other. Earlier this year, a 20-year-old man near New Orleans died after contracting the infection in the same way.

"Tap water is safe for drinking, but not for irrigating your nose," said Dr. Raoult Ratard, Louisiana state epidemiologist in a statement. Ratard urged neti-pot users to fill the pots only with distilled, sterile, or previously boiled water, and to rinse and dry them after each use.

The infection, known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis, is extremely rare. In the previous decade, just 32 cases have been reported in the United States, according to the CDC. Only one person is known to have survived.

Deaths involving neti pots are even more rare. Most deaths from the amoeba, including three last summer, occur in Southern states during the summer, when people swim in warm freshwater where Naegleria fowleri lurks.

Re: cdogg's comment "The neti pot has killed more people than smoking pot"

Only to people have died from Naegleria fowleri infection introduced by the use of a Netti pot.

Thousands have died as a result of actions taken (or not taken) due to being under the influence of pot – the dulled/slow reaction times, lack of attention – easily distracted, non-lucid thought processes, irrational interpretations etc.

Malinche – I've never heard that saying. I posted, "Think of the countless traffic deaths marijuana has prevented due to the slower speed at which a stoner drives." makes as much sense as imrational. Somehow the post got lost – or maybe I forgot to post – who knows?

Pouring water up your nose is not normal anyway. People shouldn't be doing that; it's weird. I'm 24 and I've never had the urge to pour water up my nose; I don't know why anyone would.... "A runny nose! congestion! oh man! I can't handle this! Aaahh! It's the biggest issue I've encountered in my life! What am I going to do?! I know, I'll pour water up my nose because I'm too weak to handle some head congestion."

How on earth do you jump from people taking care of their sinus problems to them screaming about it being the biggest problem in their life? Look, I'm glad that you don't suffer from sinus trouble. Other people clearly do. Get over it, you whiny little brat.

Seriously, you are ignorant. I have had sinusitis for years. I had to have surgery because my allergies and sinus issues had gotten so bad. My dr suggested nasal rinsing. The relief it brings is unbelievable. You really should shut up if you do not understand nor can comprehend what a neti-pot does and "shoving water up your nose" does. So why don't you use that nice little thing called GOOGLE and look it up...btw "too weak to handle some head congestion" is an understatement...you should have horrible sinus pressure and mucus , tired, achy and coughing so hard your back hurts, and try to go to work. I would love to see YOU have a REAL sinus infection...

Neti pots are the best. I started using it when I was pregnant becuse I didn't want to keep using Sudafed. I continue to use it becuase it works so much better than the drugs and has no side effects (unless you count this bacteria stuff- eeww).

This is the problem with the natural health craze that is sweeping the nation. There is no reason to infuse one's nostrils with tap water. The culture that Homeopathy and Chiropractic is attempting to form is dangerous and in this case deadly.

@Tom – so it's much better to put all kinds of toxic chemicals in your body because a pharmaceutical company says they're safe, right? Ever read the side effects and warnings on a box of Sudafed? It's a real eyeopener. The problem is that these people weren't reading the instructions that came with their Neti pot – there are clear instructions to use distilled water or to boil the water and let it cool before using. Don't knock things you don't understand. People have been using homeopathic remedies for centuries – long before some big company figured out they could make money from keeping people doped up. Ask any ENT – irrigation of your sinuses is incredibly effective for people with sinusitis and allergies.

I'm amazed that you say this... Everyone has had at least once sinus infection in their life, and for some of us (especially those with thyroid issues who can't take sudafed) there is no other relief. 😦 Please do research before mindlessly blathering on the internet.

It is not pouring water up your nose... it is briefly kind of inhaling it and then squirting it back out the other side. I know that sounds weird, but that is what it is like. I rarely use mine and I don't live in Louisiana, but maybe in the future I will boil my water (and let it cool) before I do use it!

" I'll pour water up my nose because I'm too weak to handle some head congestion." I love these little windows into the brains of people with drastically different ways of looking at things. I'd explain why but I'm going to build up my strength by smashing my head into a wall for an hour or two.

Sorry, but tap water that is contaminated with an amoeba that is 95% fatal is NOT safe in any way, shape size or form! What about toddlers in the bathtub that get water up their noses often? The state needs to take a much closer look at the water purification in that area.

You're right: Water that has this strain of amoeba isn't safe. Folks that swim in it can die from it. Child baths and even adult showers could run the risk of harming someone. There was some of this contamination in a river I was near this past summer and I wouldn't touch the water, let alone cook with it. Eek.

I am wondering if this amoeba can get to your brain through your nose, why doesn't it get through your eyes to the same spot, when we wash our faces? Or does it? I think more careful studies need to be done here.

Exactly! Young children especially can get tap water up their noses often. Even as an adult, splashing water on your face to wash it can result in getting water in your nose. And what if you accidentally cough with a mouthful of water? These things can happen any day. How is this safe?

Jeez, do any of you have the slightest clue what you're talking about? There is a HUGE difference between forcibly pushing water through your sinus cavity, and having water splashed on your face. Get a clue.

Most likely, the water did not come from the tap. Clearly, the amoeba breeds in fresh water lakes and ponds. What are YOU going to do about that? People die due to ignorance or carelessness. You can't fix stupid.

The risks & benefits of neti pots is actually the topic of today's video-of-the-day over at NutritionFacts.org. (Dr. Greger records and schedules those videos weeks in advance, so its coincident timing with this news story is pretty remarkable.)

When we lived in Port Augusta, South Australia, in the '70s, 2 school children died within about 1 week from amoebic meningitis. The town water supply was transported 200 miles in an above ground steel pipeline, which warmed the water in summer to a suitable temperature for the amoeba to prosper. It was thought that as the children cooled each other off with garden hoses, the water may have gone up their noses, giving amoeba access to the brain.

Some folks can't take a joke. Netti pot, homegrown pot,medical pot,spagehetti pot..it makes no matter to the DEA it all
merits a search warrant and death. Your governor cannot protect you. Now this hexane extract I made will knock you down a peg or two and maybe you will laugh instead of cry. GET IT?

I lived in Phoenix for eighteen years and know that water 'purification' can get a little out of hand (when the water from public swimming pools smells and tastes about the same as the water coming out of the tap, you know there's a problem), but perhaps water that harbors deadly amoebas should receive a little bit of treatment before it goes into people's homes.

You can get ozone and pollution hundreds of miles away from a city. And fallout from a nuclear accident thousands of miles away. Best to clean up the world, not just try to run from it. Eventually, it catches up with you.

News for you....well water has just as many other particles to drive you crazy. Maybe not this amoeba, but lack of chlorine doesn't make it fit to drink or brush your teeth with. I never drink my tap and will take my reverse osmosis anywhere I may live.

Define normal anyways. Is taking drugs synthesized in a factory that are not found in nature "normal"? Is eating a highly processed energy bar "normal"? Is living 100 feet up in a concrete structure normal? I take flonase and loratadine daily and still have extreme sinus congestion seasonally with post nasal drip. The post nasal drip often leads to sore throats, which in turn occasionally give me laryngitis.

Yes, I do think I'll stick with Flonase and Loratadine to keep my sinuses clear. And for Severe Migraines, ER comes in handy with highly effective shots that keep me sedated – with Morphine pills to take home.

Shame MMJ isn't legal everywhere, because a tiny bit of that not only clears my sinuses, but ends the need for Morphine, ER visits. Plus, I'm up with bells on the next day, ready to run marathons.

Anybody whose tonsils and adenoids were removed can get water up their nose when they swallow. Doctors used to tell mothers to put salt water up the noses of babies when the babies had colds, or adults to put salt water up their noses after sinus surgery... that was when tap water WAS sterile. "Potable" water didn't just mean drinkable, but safe for drinking, bathing, or anything else. Amoebas in tap water is unacceptable; when I was a kid, only water outside the U.S. was that dirty.

The gubmint has a gazillion regulations governing what levels of elements, compounds, drugs and other caca can be present in drinking water, and the People's Republik of KKalifornia is even stricter. But no one has standards regarding living organisms in it? There shouldn't be bacteria, amoebas, parasites or anything else. Maybe they need to put some of that nuke power to good use and flash-heat the water before sending it out to the public. Or at least re-route it to South Central L.A.

1. The package solution mix you buy from the store creates a saline solution for you to rinse with. You can replicate this at home by using table salt to make a saline solution which is more tolerable than just straight tap water. Naegleria fowleri cannot live in salt water or chlorinated water....problem solved
2. Naegleria fowleri should not be present in tap water in the first place. Of course we are talking about two of the poorest parishes in the state of Louisiana where water quality is not considered a priority.

I hope that salt kills amoebae. I have unchlorinated tap water from a private well, but the water does run through salt in the softener to remove iron. Our first house had a well only 27 feet deep. It was crystal clear and tasty, no iron at all, but no salt or chlorine, either.

As a holistic pharmacist who works with functional medicine, I can comment about the healthful benefits that netti pots provide – for reasons already mentioned by others. But DO NOT mix table salt into the purified water ( too many impurities). You must use Netti Salt, or at a minimum, a good pure grade of Celtic Sea Salt – NOT the stuff you can buy in the grocery store. Food grade salt contains too many contaminants and should not be flushed through the sinus cavity. Someone earlier commented correctly that Netti Pots come with clear instructions to only use purified water and quality salts. Unfortunately, some individuals do not understand the importance of those instructions and choose to "do their own thing." In the case of these deaths, what a shame, as they were totally preventable.

Also this: I don't think you're supposed to forcibly suck the water up into your nose. When poured gently through the sinuses, I wouldn't think there would be much of a channel for the water to reach your brain in the first place. Use saline, tilt your head, pour gently, and blow very gently when you're done (which also keeps it from ending up in your ears).

Thank you for commenting, those who did, about having sinus problems, I have developed chronic sinusitis and the ONLY thing that cures my horrible symptoms is the neti-pot...some people are blessed with no medical problems 🙂

I have recently been diagnosed with Wegener's, an autoimmune disease (not caused by smoking, which I do not do, regardless) which does horrid things to my nasal passages, including creating a nickle-sized hole between the nostrils and produces cement-like mucus. Were it not for saline rinses, such symptoms would not be tolerable, nor would I be able to continue working. There is a treatment of high-volume steroids, which bring their own nasty side effects. Please, if you have no understanding of such illnesses with symtoms that are seriously relieved by rinsing, do not prove your base stupidity by commenting herein.

If you question your tap water and want to use a neti pot, add 2 drops of bleach to the neti pot and let it sit for about 15-30 minutes. Then you can microwave it to warm it up to lukewarm and add the packet of neutralizer/buffer that comes with the neti pots.

The chlorine bleach (Clorox) you add will be enough to kill the bacteria but should not be enough to irritate your sinuses. Plus, the buffer packet should neutralize the chlorine anyway.

NRGDrinks, Neti Pots are not a new invention, nor is nasal rinsing. Try it sometime, when you aren't under the influence of that garbage called an "energy drink". You'll be surprised how well you can breathe and how clean you'll feel !!

So it's not safe to "snort" water while showering to take care of the booger problem? I'm liable to get amoebas in my brain if I do so? Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me!!!! First they "warn" us about using Q-Tips in the "inner ear canal." Where the hell ELSE are you going to use them?! Now, they're advising us to clean our sinuses only with purified water. Damn, why don't we all just live in sterile plastic bubbles?

Here is a good rule of thumb people:
If someone tells you that you should stick something in your nose to make you feel better, tell them no.
If someone tells you that you should be fatter, tell them no.
If someone tells you that you should be skinnier, tell them no.
If someone tells you that you should be a different race, tell them no.
If someone tells you that you should sit in a tent and smoke pot instead of looking for a job, tell them no.
If someone tells you to stop picking your nose, tell them no.
The problem is not you.

Wow, I feel so bad for you. I can't imagine what it must be like to go through life being so ignorant. Look at some of the responses to your comment. Your the one who's not normal. I'll bet you even thought you were being funny with your little impersonation of someone using a neti pot. But no one's laughing, except maybe laughing AT you. So, so sad. And the fact that your 24 and haven't had any major sinus problems yet doesn't mean you never will, just wait. You think neti pot users are weak? Your the one who's too weak to hold back your idiot comments about subjects you obviously know nothing about.

The so called doctor says its "ok" to ingest the water but shoving it up your nose could be fatal. hmmm...i think this doctor needs to head back to medical school. when you introduce anything into your body it is considered ingestion. either by nose, ears eyes or by mouth. i think i will continue to buy my water in a bottle.

Be careful about your bottled water. If it sits in the bottle too long (or sits in the sun) the plastic leaches into the water and you end up drinking chemicals that can cause cancer. Some companies bottle tap water!! If you are in another country make sure your bottle hasn't been re-used. And always, always, dispose of your bottle in a recycling center or it ends up in a land fill taking up space and leaching plastic into the ground water.

I feel bad for ppl who suffer greatly with sinus infections. as do i....but i think i would rather suffer with a sinus infection then to risk life and limb to clense my nasal passages. ..as for the quality of anyone drinking water? i have well water. and quite honestly, i do NOT trust drinking it. (and i dont)

what does this say about the quality of municipal drinking water? the load of toxins in los angles tap water is not fit for showering, much less drinking. clean water is becoming so scarce that we are recycling sewage. someday water will be more precious than oil yet chesapeke energy and halliburten want to threaten the well water with fracking chemicals and the keystone pipeline will endanger the midwest aquifers. don't let the 1% kill us.

Neti Pots are terrific. I have had chronic sinus infections and it keeps them at bay! Also keeps colds and flu at bay as you are rinsing out the area where the air borne viruses breed! I would much rather do this than be on antibiotics for 2 weeks several times a year that is more damaging to my body and health. My husband and I will do as suggested and purchase distilled water!

I have used these rinses after Nasal Polyp surgery and they are very effective, but I always boiled the water first and then cooled it. It is also and effective treatment when you suffer from Pollen allergies, but always boil the water and put it in a sterile container to cool before use.

When you drink water, it goes into your digestive system through the esophagus, interacts with stomach acids. When you "snort" water, you're pulling it up into the nasal cavities that border the brain membrane. When that gets infected, it's serious.

Wow, what a load of fear-tactics. The Neti Pot is one of the most effective, all-natural and safest ways to clean your nasal passages and prevent illness. THE MEDICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES don't want you to know this. No big profits off Neti Pots, huh?? What about the THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of people who have died from pharmaceutical drug interactions?

If the tap water is not safe to get up your nose, accidentally or on purpose, it's not safe to bathe in or drink. Swimmers get this fatal condition most often and they are not trying to force water up their noses, it just happens sometimes during swimming. The powers that be need to kill this dangerous amoeba in the tap water as it's absurd that we have to fear that our tap water could be deadly.

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